The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1488967
JANUARY 2023 THE WOLVERINE 21 beat both rivals, win the Big Ten and capture a national championship. "We said we wanted to go back-to- back Big Ten champions, said we wanted to beat Ohio State, said we wanted to beat Michigan State. We're on the path to do exactly what we said," senior cor- nerback DJ Turner emphasized. "It's a great feeling, but we've got more to do." Harbaugh actually opened his post- game comments with an extended thank-you to the parents of Michigan players. They played a large part in the championship themselves, he insisted, planting the seeds of character he sees throughout the roster. "They just help us win in every way — on the field, off the field, through per- severance, character and mostly love," Harbaugh said. "It's been that kind of a team. It's beyond culture. It's a brother- hood. I've talked about it being a happy mission, not a grim mission. It's been a mission of God. I want to thank our parents for how they've raised these youngsters. They are amazing." As for the players themselves, he as- sured: "They like football. They like training. They enjoy each other's com- pany. There's not a day that goes by that either of these two guys [McCarthy and Edwards] have had a bad day. "I think they like the direction of the program. They like the opportunity in the program, and I like them back — a lot. I'm proud of them, so proud of them." ❏ The last time Michigan won back-to-back Big Ten championships, Mike Hart played running back for the Wolverines, rather than coaching them. That fact likely isn't lost on Hart, who put 1,000- yard backs on the field in the form of Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum the past two seasons. It's certainly not lost on Michigan football fans, who wondered if the Wolverines' conference title-devoid streak might stretch to two decades. B efore last season, they'd heard the mock- ing of those from other Big Ten schools, who noted since the creation of the conference title game, the Wolverines had never made an ap- pearance in Indianapolis. After Michigan's 43-22 victory over Purdue for a second straight champi- onship, sophomore tail- back Donovan Edwards brushed off talk of it be- ing a home game of sorts for nearby Purdue. "I would say this is our home, too," Edwards mused. "We' were here last year and this year. When we did our walk-through yesterday, it was just like, yeah, this is our home right here." Since the Big Ten split into East-West divisions in 2014, only one other conference team has earned as many as two victories. Ohio State owns five titles, including four in a row leading up to Michigan's two straight. Michigan State and Penn State claimed the other two, leaving the entire West Division without a Big Ten championship in this format. Former players such as Chris Hutchinson and Doug Skene proudly speak of their legacy of winning five straight Big Ten championships and never losing to Ohio State while they were at Michigan (1988-92). It 's not likely either Edwards or sophomore quarterback J.J. McCar- thy sees five years in Ann Arbor, but there can't be a better 2-for-2 in those areas than they and their classmates have enjoyed. Since that time, the Wolverines earned back- to-back Big Ten titles just twice. Michigan backed up its 1997 Big Ten championship and run to the national crown with a Tom Brady-led shared title in 1998. Then came the Big Ten titles in 2003-04, Hart and quarterback Chad Henne leading the way for the latter as fresh- men. After they and head coach Lloyd Carr left in 2007, the Wolver- ines wandered into the Big Ten title wilderness, a sojourn lingering all the way to the 2021 season. It used to be easier to claim a Big Ten champi- onship, back in the days of the shared conference crowns. Even then, you have to go back to the 1970s to find back-to-back Big Ten championships for the Wolverines before the five-in-a-row run. Michigan under Bo Schembechler shared Big Ten titles with Ohio State in 1976 and '77, and with Michigan State in 1978. The Wolverines also won or shared the Big Ten titles in four straight seasons, from 1971-74. Prior to those, the consecu- tive title accomplishment goes all the way back to the Mad Magicians, the Wolverines winning or sharing four straight Big Ten titles from 1947 to 1950. In other words, the 2022 Wolverines join an elite club of back-to-back winners in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. And they're not done yet. — John Borton In his eighth year at the helm, Jim Harbaugh led Michigan to its first back-to- back Big Ten titles since 2003-04 and a berth in the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Back-To-Back Titles A Long Time Coming